Fiddling whilst Rome burns
The European Commission reacted positively today to Microsoft's efforts to increase the "interoperability" of its products with other non-Microsoft software. If this means we are nearing closure on this issue taxpayers across the EU will breathe a sigh of relief because the longer this saga drags on the more irrelevant it looks.
Most taxpayers who realise how much time the Commission has spent chasing Microsoft seriously question the bureaucrats' priorities. The EU's accounts haven't been passed by the European Auditor for over a decade because of systemic fraud. Heavy agricultural subsidies and high trade barriers continue to hurt the Third World. And MEPs continue their monthly commute between Brussels and Strasbourg, at the behest of the French government. All these are issues that directly affect taxpayers because they are all areas where we deserve better value for money, but the Commission continues to pursue Microsoft.
Following the strong rejection of the new European Constitution by the French and the Dutch and the latest installment of the Microsoft saga, it is difficult not to conclude that the Commission is fiddling whilst the Treaty of Rome burns.
